New Zealand vs Namibia Predictions - Namibia backed to impress against All Blacks

New Zealand have played Namibia at the last two World Cup’s (2015 and 2019) winning both games convincingly. In 2015, the All Blacks won 58-14 and in 2019 they won again, this time 71-9.

New Zealand suffered defeat in their opening match, going down 27-13 to France. The result will sting but it doesn’t change much as they are still likely to qualify.

The performance against France will be more of a concern. The All Blacks scored two tries, one early in the game and the other early in the second half. Both times they took the lead but failed to hold the hosts out thereafter.

This game against Namibia offers New Zealand an opportunity to try a few things. But coming into it off the back of two losses will hurt so they will need to get it right against Namibia.

New Zealand are almost guaranteed to rest quite a few players for this encounter. They won’t want to risk injuries but at the same time, some combinations need more time together.

Namibia were gallant in their opening game against Italy. They competed for most of the game but allowed three late tries in the match which ballooned the score.

The 52-8 defeat was not a fair reflection of a game in which Namibia, especially in the first half, had the upper hand. Tiredness certainly came into play in the final 20 minutes.

However, this weekend they face a New Zealand side looking to bounce back from a defeat to France. They will need to keep it tight early on because if the All Blacks get a strong start, it could be a very long night for Namibia.

Having played on Saturday Namibia have six days to recover. That should be sufficient for them to send out their strongest available side.